Festy Ebosele looking to turn Serie A form into more Ireland opportunities

Less than a fortnight after his man-of-the-match performance at the San Siro for Udinese, when he won the penalty that gave his side a shock 1-0 win over AC Milan, Festy Ebosele would be forgiven if he was still floating on air. But the 21-year-old from Enniscorthy has his feet firmly planted on terra firma, his sole focus this week on doing enough in training to persuade Stephen Kenny that he deserves some minutes against the Netherlands on Saturday.

“Hopefully I will,” he says. “I’m ready to play, whatever minutes I get, or whether I get any minutes, I’m looking forward to it.”

He came on in the 84th minute to make his senior Republic of Ireland debut in the 2-0 defeat to France in Paris in September, and picked up his second cap when he was another late substitution in the 2-1 loss to the Dutch in Dublin three days later. Talk about a baptism of fire.

He loved the experiences, though, not least coming up against France with “some of the best players in the world”.

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“It was amazing to make my debut there,” he says. “I wish I could have played longer, but it was a very good moment for me.”

He’s had no shortage of good moments in Italy since he joined Udinese from Derby County in the summer of 2022, a brave move considering the many challenges it entailed, among them a very different style of football.

“It’s definitely different, so I’ve had to adapt and add some new aspects to my game. But I think I’ve done that in the year-and-a-half that I’ve been there now. I definitely feel I’ve come a long way.”

“In England the style in the Championship suited me a bit more, it was more physical. But I’ve learned the Italian style and I really do enjoy it, it’s definitely helped me with my football. It’s more tactical. I’d say you have to be more concentrated in the games, tackling-wise, just positioning and everything, I’d say that’s the main difference. My physicality was a disadvantage at the start because I was flying into tackles, but now I can use it well.”

Wayne Rooney, his manager at Derby, wasn’t convinced he was making the right decision in moving to Italy. “He told me to consider all my options, and I did. I still felt Udinese was the best one for me.” Have you heard from him since? “No.”

But Ebosele was up for that challenge, on and off the pitch. Like the one with the language. “My first manager [Andrea Sottil, who was sacked last month] didn’t speak any English, so there was that barrier. I had to learn it to speak to him. It’s good to be in to the culture, it makes you adapt better. I can speak good Italian now.”

And he highly recommends more young Irish players considering Italy as an option, rather than going down the traditional English route. “If you’re not afraid to take a risk, then definitely. Because you will improve in the long run. It’s tough at the start but once you get used to it, it’s very enjoyable. Hopefully more will see it as another opportunity, not just to stay in England but to venture elsewhere.”

After taking time to bed in, Ebosele has started nine and come on in three of Udinese’s 12 Serie A games this season, the wing back registered as the league’s fastest player. His new manager Gabriele Cioffi sang his praises after that display against AC Milan. “He played a great game,” he said, “he has goals in him and he will find them, he is on the right path. Ebosele is maturing match after match, he must continue to work with his head down.”

The player himself echoes that assessment. “I’m still 21 so I can’t really get ahead of myself. I hopefully have a long career ahead of me and I’m taking everything as it comes. Yes, I’m happy with what I’ve done so far, but I still feel I can do more and I’m very much trying to stay on track.”

[ From UCD to Champions League nights with Celtic, Liam Scales cuts a path for others to follow ]

Having represented Ireland at every underage level, Ebosele is now hoping to build on the start to his senior career. “It’s been good. I’ve been involved now in the last three camps, I love all the players, love all the coaching staff and hopefully I can make a name for myself here.”

“Stephen [Kenny] always calls me during the season, at random times, just to check in and see if I’m doing well. I think he’s a great manager, I enjoy working with him and hopefully I can continue to work with him.”

His hero? James McClean. “When I was younger, I was more of a winger. It was James I looked up to in the Irish team, like him I’m still an attacking player, I can play on the wing or at right-back. He was quick. He liked to dribble past players and get crosses in. That’s what I really liked and he was exciting to watch.”

McClean will retire after next week’s friendly against New Zealand. Ebosele has ambitions to have an Irish career as lengthy and productive as his childhood hero.